UB aims to reduce sodium consumption on campus

By RAYMOND KOHL

Campus Dining & Shops (CDS) is working to help the UB
community eat heathier by lowering the amount of sodium in food
sold on campus.

CDS is collaborating on the sodium-reduction initiative with
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County as part of a
five-year, $1.975 million grant that the New York State Department
of Health (NYSDOH) received from the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program. The
goal of the program is to implement and evaluate community-based
strategies for reducing sodium consumption in early childhood
education centers, along with universities and colleges in four
counties in New York State.

Lori Bendersky, a registered dietician and certified dietician
nutritionist with CDS, spearheaded the initiative with Kaitlyn
Summers, a registered dietician nutritionist for Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Niagara County. “Our goal is to
focus our efforts ‘behind the scenes’ and work with the
dining services’ staff and chefs to replace high-sodium items
or modify recipes to reduce sodium levels,” Summers says.
“This program will impact more than 46,000 students enrolled
across targeted colleges and universities.”

Using Foodservice Suite®, a nutritional-analysis software
program, CDS focused first on the popular Grab n’ Go items.
“We started with Grab n’ Go because these items are
distributed across campus and available in many of our
units,” says Bendersky, noting that CDS makes more than 2,000
Grab n’ Go items each day. As an example of the kind of
modifications CDS is making, she cites the house-made hummus cups,
which now include everything pretzel thins, instead of traditional
pretzel thins, which reduce sodium in the product by 45
percent.

But the most significant change came with deli meats, which
traditionally contain high levels of sodium due to processing and
preserving. The CDS team, led by Executive Chef Neal Plazio and
Purchasing Manager Jorge Reinoso, found a high-quality,
reduced-sodium deli turkey to replace the existing deli turkey,
leading to a 42 percent reduction in sodium.

“This is huge,” Plazio says. “Deli turkey is
one of our largest volume items, so it’s really going to make
a big impact.”

New menu items with lower sodium also have been introduced this
semester. A recently purchased vegetable spiralizer turns fresh
vegetables into faux noodles, a trend that Bendersky says is
catching on with today’s college students.

“Our new low-sodium Spiralized Zucchini Caprese Salad is
simple ingredients but very colorful and attractive, something our
students look for in dishes,” she says.

Another new trendy item is “overnight oats.”
“We soak steel-cut oats overnight in almond milk and Greek
yogurt, and then top them with fresh strawberries and granola for a
nutritious and satisfying breakfast item or snack,” Plazio
adds.

Sodium reduction is an effective strategy in managing
hypertension. And while college students may not be at high risk,
it’s important they learn to make informed food choices as
they start on the path to adulthood.

Over the next four years of the grant, strategies to reduce
sodium at UB will focus on gradually reducing sodium targets for
different food categories; identifying lower-sodium products
with distributors; training staff on techniques and changes to
products, recipes or portion sizes; and developing venue-specific
behavior-modification approaches to increase demand or access to
lower-sodium foods.

“We are extremely excited to be involved in this
initiative,” says Jeff Brady, CDS executive director.
“In recent years, we have added more healthy items than ever
before and our students, faculty and staff have responded
positively. From providing more unsweetened beverage choices to
increasing our plant-based protein offerings, we are continuously
looking to provide healthier alternatives that are full of
flavor.”

Bendersky notes CDS has already begun modifying recipes.
“We are slightly reducing the portion sizes of high-sodium
ingredients, such as cheeses and dressings, in our popular quinoa
bowls without changing the taste our customers love,” she
says.

CDS and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County are
planning educational events for students, faculty and staff that
will take place this the semester and during February, which is
American Heart Month.